Big Bull,
The second Y2K message I've seen having to do with pre-emptive measures:
dailynews.yahoo.com
Monday November 29 4:25 PM ET
Oil Powers to Act Jointly in Case of Y2K Glitch
By Tom Ashby
CARACAS (Reuters) - Oil powers Venezuela, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, the top suppliers of oil to the United States, said on Monday they would act jointly to face up to any Y2K interruptions in global oil supply.
But any supply disruption was ''highly improbable'', after extensive tests and simulations, they said in a joint statement from Caracas.
The trio added it was committed to guaranteeing a balanced market around the key date, when some computers risk malfunction.
The announcement was welcomed by the West's energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency (IEA), which called the move ''statesmanlike''.
''Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Venezuela want to assure the participants in international oil markets that oil production in their countries is not at risk,'' said the statement from Venezuela's Energy and Mines Ministry.
''If any problem associated with Y2K does occur in the coming months, which is highly improbable, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Venezuela, in coordination with other oil producing countries, would respond in the appropriate way,'' it added.
The three exporters have emerged as key managers of global oil supply since early 1998 when they masterminded production cuts in response to the deepest price crash in decades.
As a result of the cuts, many countries have a large margin of unused capacity, but some big producers have done little to prepare their computers for the date change.
Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Mexico all say they have made extensive preparations to face up to the bug. But some other producers, particularly Iraq, have done little to update their systems, which could misinterpret the change of year as a malfunction and shut down crucial operations.
The IEA said it welcomed reports that the three countries ''intend to make good oil supplies that may be lost due to computer problems at the New Year''.
''Producers and consumers alike need confident oil markets. This is a significant contribution to maintaining that confidence,'' the IEA added in a communiqu.
The Venezuelan statement said the trio maintained their commitment keeping prices stable and at levels that serve producer and consumer interests.
Oil prices have more than doubled this year to nine-year highs as a result of the output cuts, which are scheduled to expire in March 2000.
Consumers are expected to stock up on fuel ahead of December 31, while producers are filling inventories at home and abroad to ensure the availability of supplies in case of production problems.
The Paris-based IEA, whose members are taken from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), insists countries hold a minimum oil stock level as a condition of membership.
Last week the U.S. government said it was prepared to sell crude oil from its enormous Strategic Petroleum Reserve if a Y2K problem disrupted supply.
Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. said last week it will halt tanker dockings and oil loadings for about 10 hours around midnight on December 31 as a preventive measure against Y2K problems.
Other exporters are likely to take similar measures, but that is expected to have little impact on the availability of oil, which can take weeks to ship to consumer markets.
The most interesting paragraph to me is fourth-to-last:
"The Paris-based IEA, whose members are taken from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), insists countries hold a minimum oil stock level as a condition of membership."
Jesus, the nerve of these guys. On the other hand, if they're the ones keeping the numbers, we should have plenty on hand, ha ha. Like about 600 million barrels.
Regards to all and fill'er up.
Aggie
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